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People cheering for Lamar Johnson cheered in court as his murder conviction was overturned
2 hours ago
An American man who spent nearly 28 years behind bars for a murder he has always denied has had his conviction overturned in Missouri.
Lamar Johnson, 50, left St. Louis a free man following a ruling by Judge David Mason on Tuesday.
The judge said he acted after two witnesses presented “conclusive and convincing evidence” that Johnson was innocent.
He was convicted of the 1994 murder of Marcus Boyd.
Johnson was visibly touched when the decision was announced, as his supporters erupted in applause.
“This is emotional,” Johnson said after exiting the courtroom.
Last year, attorney Kim Gardner filed a motion to have Johnson released after conducting a joint investigation with the legal, nonprofit Innocence Project.
After Tuesday’s hearing, Johnson’s legal team criticized prosecutors, who urged keeping him in jail.
“They never stopped claiming Lamar was guilty and wanted to see him languish and die in prison,” Johnson’s attorneys said in a statement.
A spokesman for the attorney general said in an email that there would be no further action by the attorney general in this case.
“Our office has upheld the rule of law and worked to uphold the original verdict that a jury of Johnson’s colleagues found appropriate based on the facts presented at trial,” the statement said.
The crime
Marcus Boyd was shot dead by two masked men on the porch of Johnson’s home in October 1994.
Johnson has repeatedly said he was not at home when the attack took place.
Judge Mason issued his new decision after a witness changed his testimony and an inmate confessed to shooting Boyd with another suspect, Phil Campbell.
At the first trial, Campbell had pleaded guilty to a reduced sentence and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
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